


The One He Wanted

by cherrysprite



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cold, Cuddling & Snuggling, Denial of Feelings, Feelings, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Short, Short & Sweet, Sick Character, Sick Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken Loves Liam Dunbar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: Theo is the only one Liam wants with him when he's sick, but he can't have him.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 5
Kudos: 158





	The One He Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this is ignoring that Werewolves can't get sick...but whatever, it was cute and I can relate to it, okay ? :,)

Liam rarely ever wants to be touched when he's sick, not by anyone. The feeling makes him feel too trapped and it doesn't matter if he has a fever or not, every brush across his skin makes his nerves feel flayed and oversensitive like broken, frayed wires. Even his blankets are too much, so he just has to lay there in bed, trying to ignore the way every inch of his skin is crying out and sending waves of discomfort through his already exhausted and worn out body. He can't imagine being touched by anybody.

Except for maybe one. But that isn't going to happen.

He isn't really sure how he got sick. Yesterday he was fine, maybe just a little tired, but that morning he woke up and he could barely speak through how terribly his throat hurt and he couldn't move without feeling like he would pass out. He was a sad case, and he was sort of glad that no one was around to see him like this. Both of his parents were at work, and while his mom said that he could have someone over to bring him his missed work, he doubted he was going to ask anyone to do that. Nobody needed to see him like this, curled up and alone in his little ball on his bed. He knew he looked gross and pathetic, more than usual.

He shivered and turned off the music that was playing on the speaker next to him. Even at low volume, it was too much for his brain to handle, making him want to cry. He barely had the energy to think, so he just had to lay there vaguely bored and try not to fall back into a sleep full of fever dreams.

Apparently, though, he was too exhausted to think but not too exhausted for his mind to drift. As always, it went back to the one person he always thought of, the one he always wanted around yet never had. Theo had never been to his house before, but he couldn't help but feel like it would be entirely natural for Theo to be right there next to him as if he had always been. Maybe he would be brushing the hair off Liam's face or taking his temperature, and Liam would complain for being touched, but for once, that was all he wanted. Even if Theo couldn't touch him, he just wanted him to be there.

He knew that being held by Theo wouldn't feel nearly as good as it did when he was healthy, but it was such a fleeting experience that he would have tolerated it for hours now just to know that it had happened. He still remembered how nice it had been when they were on Scott's couch that one time together, everyone recovering after a big fight, and Liam couldn't help but lean into him. They didn't talk about it in the morning when they woke up together and they didn't talk about it ever again, not until that last week.

And then they didn't talk at all.

So Liam knew there was no way that he was going to get what he wanted, no matter how much he wanted it. All he could do was try to put it out of his mind, since he didn't need to think the truth and remember that the one person he wanted around would never want him like that. That had been clear from the way Theo had entirely shut down and pushed him away after Liam had brought up what had happened. He hadn't gotten the chance to tell people that it wasn't a bad thing that happened, their accidental cuddling, and how safe it made Liam feel at that moment. Theo may have needed to hear it, but even now, Liam wasn't sure it would have made much of a difference.

The reality Liam had been living for the past twelve hours was nothing but this: Liam was sick, and he only wanted Theo, but he can't have him. They're not talking now.

It didn't take long for sleep to win Liam over, and he drifted off, vaguely aware that he was going to have bad dreams and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

But the dreams never came. He woke up a few hours to feel a presence near him, the bed moving around a little as someone shuffled into it. It was awkward for whoever it was, trying to get in without waking him up, and they settled for laying on top of the blankets, clearly not laying down. Liam's sick brain took a second to realize that the dip in the bed was too heavy to be his mother, and his suspicions were confirmed when he took his first (although stuffy) deep breath and smelled Theo's slightly spicy cologne. Too tired to be as shocked as he should be, he blinked one eye open and tried to stretch and groan.

"Sh," Theo said softly, a slight scent of embarrassment coming off of him. "Go back to sleep."

"But-" Liam tried, but he was interrupted by a big yawn wanting to come out. His eyes shut again and felt too heavy to reopen, so he had no other choice but to put his head back down and nuzzle into the pillow. Theo let out a breathy laugh through his nose.

Liam felt him wrap his arms around his middle as he settled in next to him, but he found he didn't mind much at all, just as he had expected. Being held by Theo was something to savor, and he wasn't about to tell him to stop.

He did take the risk, though, as an anxious feeling made it's way through the haze of sickness. 

"Are we ever gonna talk about this?" he asked sleepily, and he felt Theo tense up behind him.

"No," He said, but he didn't leave.

Liam sighed to himself, his heart feeling heavy, but there wasn't much he could really feel negative about when Theo was still squeezing just tightly enough to prove he really did want to be there. He didn't run away.

That was progress, he decided as he drifted back off into a weighted sleep, Theo watching over him as he went.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you sm for reading! I'm writing this on mobile since I wrote the entire thing in my notes app in about twenty minutes, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I hope you enjoyed, though!
> 
> Comments and criticism is always appreciated! <3  
> -emma


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